Mystical Lady
by Mystical Lady Partridge
Summary: What happens when a beautiful, deadly stranger comes to town and sets her sights on Keith. Told from Danny's point of view.
1. Chapter 1

**Mystical Lady **

Here is a Partridge Family fiction that is a bit different. This story is told from Danny's point of view. Most of it, anyway. This was something that has kind of been in the back of my mind for a while now. I'd like to thank Jackie (RandomFan22) for her valuable help and one very important suggestion that she made to me during the writing of this one.

I hope you like it and have as much fun reading it as I've had in writing it.

Let the reading begin!

**Chapter 1 **

Danny snapped the television off quietly, returning the Partridge family living room to darkness once more. He had just finished watching the Saturday late night double feature horror movie. Well, it had been Saturday night when the movies started. Presently, it was approximately 1:30 Sunday morning. The first one hadn't been too bad; _Frankenstein_ had actually been a little on the boring side. But he had been totally engrossed in the second movie, _Dracula. _It had shifted his sometimes over imaginative mind into overdrive. If his mom knew that he had stayed up to watch both films until the wee hours of the morning...well, she wouldn't be very happy. She absolutely hated these kinds of movies and practically forbade him and Chris from watching them.

Chris had been unable to keep his eyes open during the first movie and now he lay on the other end of the sofa, sleeping soundly. Danny gently shook him, not out of brotherly love, but to save his own skin; he didn't want Chris to make any unwanted noise as he woke up. They had made it this far, it would be a bummer if they got caught now.

"Chris. Wake up, it's time to go to bed." Danny whispered urgently as he prodded his younger brother's shoulder.

The younger boy opened his eyes sleepily and tried to adjust his vision to the darkness that surrounded him. The television screen glowed faintly across the room, indicating that it had recently been turned off.

"Huh? What time is it?" Chris couldn't stifle a yawn.

An impatient Danny sighed in exasperation. "I told you...it's time to go to bed, now hurry up. Don't make any noise, we don't want to wake anyone up, namely Mom." Of course it wouldn't do to wake Keith or Laurie either. They'd be sure to mention it to Mom in the morning. He didn't worry about Tracy too much; she could easily be bribed into silence.

Chris slowly got up from the sofa. "I can't believe that I fell asleep! Why didn't you wake me up? I really wanted to see that Dracula film." Wide awake now, his disappointment was beginning to settle in.

"I'll tell you about it in the morning. Now let's get upstairs and in bed before we get caught." Danny urged.

Chris wasn't mollified in the least. "It isn't the same." He grumbled as he followed Danny.

The two boys trudged quietly up the carpeted staircase. They were in luck this early morning; no one was waiting at the top of the stairs wanting to know what they were doing up at this hour. They crept along the hallway and into their shared room. Both boys quickly hopped into bed and in no time at all, they were sleeping soundly.

Despite going to bed so late, Danny was up pretty early the next morning. He was raiding the refrigerator for a before-breakfast snack when Keith walked into the kitchen.

"Hey squirt. How was the movie last night?" Keith asked nonchalantly as he reached over Danny's head for the pitcher of orange juice.

Alarmed, Danny stood up straight, nearly knocking the glass pitcher out of his older brother's hand. "What movie? What are you talking about? I didn't watch any movie!"

Keith gripped the glass container in both hands in order to prevent it from falling to the floor and took a couple of quick steps backward. "Watch it, you dork! You almost made me drop the juice!"

"Sorry." Danny quickly apologized, eager to make amends. If Keith knew something, it would be best to stay on his good side.

Keith grinned and ruffled his red hair before walking to the cabinet to get a juice glass. "Relax. I won't say a word to Mom about you and Chris staying up to watch it." It wasn't so long ago, that he was doing the same thing; staying up late on a Friday or Saturday night to watch an old movie against his mother's wishes. Although, Keith had preferred more of an action film than a horror movie.

Greatly relieved, Danny smiled back. Sometimes, his older brother could be very cool about stuff. "Thanks." Then a thought occurred to him. "How did you know we were up?"

Keith poured himself a glass of the juice and took a sip. "I couldn't sleep, so I got up to write down some lyrics that popped into my head around 11:30 or so. I saw the light from the TV flickering downstairs, so I checked to make sure we weren't being burglarized or something." He put the glass down and gazed at his younger brother. "What movie were you guys watching anyhow?"

Danny gave up trying to find anything in the refrigerator and closed the door. He went to the kitchen table and grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl. "It was a double feature: Frankenstein and then Dracula." He peeled back the skin from the yellow fruit and began to eat it.

"Ah. So...how were they? Scary?" Keith scrunched his eyes and held his hands up, fingers curled into claws, doing a half-hearted pseudo-monster.

"Frankenstein was okay; Chris fell asleep before it ended. But Dracula was pretty darn interesting. I think I'll be doing my book report on Dracula." Danny said around a mouthful of banana.

"Oh?" Keith dropped his hands and raised an eyebrow in feigned shock. "You know how to read?" He teased.

Danny scowled at his older brother. "Ha, ha. That was so funny, I almost forgot to laugh." Then he changed the subject. "Hey, what are you doing up so early on a Saturday morning? You usually sleep in until at least 10 or 11."

"I'm going to the beach with the guys." Keith stated. "Gordy got a new surfboard for his birthday, and we're going to break it in today."

Danny looked out the kitchen window, it was pleasant enough out there. "But it's supposed to rain later this morning. Didn't you know that?" He was just now noticing his brother's attire: Swimming trunks, a t-shirt and an old pair of tennis shoes. His sunglasses were perched on top of his head.

"But not until closer to noon, which is why we're getting an early start. We'll have conquered the biggest waves before the first raindrop falls, besides having the beach to ourselves." He finished the glass of orange juice, walked to the sink and rinsed the glass out. That done, he put the glass into the dishwasher. "And I'll be home in plenty of time for our rehearsal this afternoon." He picked up the beach towel that he had left on the counter, hung it around his neck and headed for the back door.

"Yeah, okay." Danny agreed readily. He was busy planning out his own morning activities. The town library was going to be his first stop. "See ya later." He said to his already retreating brother's back. If it was going to rain, then he might as well spend some time indoors doing something interesting. Doing some research on Dracula sounded very promising. He made a mental note to call Punky to see if he wanted to go with him.

Hours later, Danny came home from the library laden with books. He tossed them in the nearest chair and greeted his older sister.

"Hi!"

"Hi yourself." Laurie placed a marker in the book that she had been reading, closed it and put it on the coffee table. She then eyed the books in the chair. "Don't tell me that you spent the day at the library?"

Danny shrugged. "Okay, I won't tell you. Where's Mom?"

Shirley came through the kitchen door. "Mom's right here. Where is your brother? We can't very well have a rehearsal without him!" She was absentmindedly drying her hands on a dishtowel as she walked to the living room front window and looked at the increasingly gray skies.

Danny grinned. "Which brother? We'd be hard pressed to rehearse without either one of them. A lead singer and a drummer are pretty important parts of any band."

"Danny." Shirley sighed patiently. "Chris has been here all day; he's upstairs going over his baseball cards. Keith is late...yet again. He promised that he'd be on time today." She tossed another look at the window. The weatherman had been right, the sky was clouding up quickly.

As if on cue, they heard the back door open. Within seconds, Keith was standing in the kitchen doorway with a silly grin on his face. He hadn't bothered to put his t-shirt back on, but the towel was hanging over his shoulder. His dark locks were damp, likewise his sun-darkened skin glistened with tanning oil. Danny had always been a bit put out that Keith could tolerate the sun so well, when his own fair skin burned to a painful pink if he wasn't careful.

"Sorry I'm late. Gordy had car trouble on the way home. Guess who had to fix it?" Keith gave a wry smile as he held his dirty hands up for them to see.

Shirley sighed and pointed toward the staircase. "I'll give you a half hour to get yourself showered, changed and in the garage."

"Only half an hour?" Keith exclaimed in disbelief.

Shirley made a show of looking at her watch. "Yes. Starting right now. You better get moving." She smiled pleasantly at him.

"Or...what?" Keith wanted to know, hoping that she was bluffing.

She put her hands on her hips and sternly replied, "Or you'll be grounded for the rest of the weekend!"

As Keith took the stairs two at a time, Danny couldn't help but turn to his sister and whisper loudly. "He'll have time to blow dry, but there's no way he's got time to fluff."

"I HEARD THAT!" Came a heated shout from the upper level of the house, causing all three of them to giggle.

Danny lamented. "You know, for a guy that doesn't have visible ears, he sure can hear good."

"Did you see him book up those stairs? If I didn't know better, I'd say that he's got plans for the weekend." Laurie speculated.

"Yeah, he's got a date with that new girl in school. Adrian...somebody." Danny tried to remember her last name. He had yet to meet the newest girl in his older brother's life, but he had seen her from afar. She was a total knock-out. Long dark hair. Legs that went up to there, a bewitching smile and a sexy European accent to top it off. She was supposed to be an exchange student from...darned if he could remember the country she was supposed to be from! It was yet another reason to be a bit envious of his older brother. His popularity with members of the opposite sex. They found him irresistible and were drawn to him like a magnet. It seemed that there was a constant stream of teenage girls marching in and out of Keith's life. He certainly had a busy social schedule.

Shirley settled in a nearby chair to wait for their fearless leader. "Laurie, aren't you going out as well tonight?"

"Yeah, Craig is taking me to the drive-in tonight. I wonder where Keith's taking his date?" She pondered out loud.

"I overheard him on the phone yesterday. He mentioned the drive-in too. He warned whoever it was-I'm assuming that it was this new girl-that it might get a bit cold and to bring a sweater or something. Apparently the heater in his car doesn't work." Shirley picked a magazine off of the coffee table and began to page through it. "He should fix it before he really needs it."

"That's what he says..." Danny smirked under his breath. He knew Keith's heater worked just fine. Having a broken car heater during a date at the drive-in could be very convenient.

Laurie rolled her eyes and picked up her book again.

Rehearsal hadn't gone very smoothly that afternoon. It seemed that there were a number of technical difficulties in which they had to stop and wait for Keith to take care of the problems. The first time it had been a broken string on his guitar. Then Danny's amplifier had shorted out, and fried one of the tubes. This had resulted in a longer break while Keith searched the garage for a spare tube. The straw that had broken the camel's back had been when the whining feedback had started, creating a very uncomfortable atmosphere in the small space of the garage. Shirley could see the frustration clearly on her eldest son's face and canceled the remainder of the practice session. She ushered the kids out of the garage, while Keith stayed behind to deal with the equipment breakdowns.

Later that evening after supper, Keith left the house to pick his date up. Laurie lounged in the living room waiting for her date for the evening, Craig.

Danny was also in the living room, pouring over the books that he had checked out from the library earlier that day.

Trying to entertain herself as she waited, she looked over Danny's shoulder to see what was so interesting.

"What are you reading about, Danny?"

"I'm doing research for my book report. It's going to be on Dracula." He replied without looking up.

"Dracula? Don't you have to write about someone who actually existed?"

Danny looked up and addressed his sister. "Not necessarily. Mrs. Winston said that it could be about a fictional person, just as long as we can back up our research. I already asked her."

Laurie rolled her eyes. "Okay, just make sure you write an accurate report then. No making stuff up." She teased him. Looking out the window, she spotted Craig's car pulling into the driveway. She decided to make good her escape.

"Craig's here. I'll be back in a few hours. Bye" She hurried out the front door.

Shirley had sat on the sofa quietly listening to Danny's description of the subject of his book report.

"Danny, why don't you pick someone different to write about." She gently suggested.

Puzzled, Danny looked up from his books. "Why?"

"It's just too...macabre. I'm afraid it'll give you nightmares."

Danny shook his head. "Nah. It won't." He looked down at the open book before him. "It says here that modern day vampires can be exposed to sunlight without ill effect. Only their powers are weakened during daylight."

"Danny," She chided him. "Vampires only exist in the overactive minds of certain people."

He seemed to think that over for a moment, then he shrugged. "You never know...there could be a vampire walking around San Pueblo right this very minute."

She watched him as he fully immersed himself in the book once again. She didn't like censorship and this was beginning to smack of it, so she compromised...against her better judgment. "Okay. But if I hear that you've had one bad dream, you'll have to find another subject. Agreed?"

He looked up at her and readily agreed. "Okay."

Smiling to himself, he went back to his book.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2**_

_ Later that evening, Danny was in the upstairs hallway, returning to his room from a trip to the bathroom, when he heard the front door open and close. Then he heard his sister's voice greeting their mother. He went to the upper landing and crouched down so he could hear better. _

_ "How was your date, honey?" Shirley asked. _

_ Laurie hesitated for a moment. "It was okay, I guess." _

_ "Why? What happened? You don't sound convinced." _

_ "Well...my date really was okay. It's just that...well, we saw Keith and Adrian. We ended up parking just behind them in the last row. We were a little late getting there, all the good spots were taken. Anyway, it's usually pretty secluded back there."_

_ Concern in her voice, Shirley nodded and urged her daughter to continue. "Go on." _

_ "Anyway, we had a pretty good view of them." She squirmed uncomfortably, not wanting to look into her mother's eyes. "I mean, they were right in front of us, it was hard to miss them." _

_ Shirley didn't say anything, but simply waited for her daughter to gather her wits and proceed. _

_ Finally Laurie looked up and saw the look on her mother's face. "What happened was just...weird._

_ "About halfway into the movie, we saw a strange couple approach the passenger side of the car. I have no idea who they were, it was hard see in the dark. They just seemed to materialize out of nowhere. The guy leaned down and said something to them through the open window. We couldn't hear what they were saying. At first I thought that he needed help or something, but then Keith's date opened the door, got out and...went with them. She just...walked away."_

_ "Maybe she went to get a snack or she had to use the restroom." Shirley suggested. _

_ "No, I don't think so, she was gone too long." Laurie was dubious._

_ "What did Keith do in the meantime?" _

_ Laurie hesitated before replying."Nothing. He just sat there and did nothing while his date went off with a couple of strangers. I figured he'd get upset and try to go after them, but he never moved." _

_ "I assume that she returned eventually."_

_ Laurie nodded. "She came back about thirty minutes later...alone . And if that wasn't weird enough, when she got back into the car she snuggled up to Keith and then they proceeded to make out right there in front of us! She was all over him! I got so upset that I almost went over there to give that dear brother of mine a piece of my mind. But Craig stopped me; he said it would have been too awkward. I started to argue with him but then I realized that he was right. It would have been embarrassing for everyone involved."_

_ Shirley nodded. "You did the right thing, honey. Is there anything else I should know?" _

_ Laurie nervously tucked a lock of her dark hair behind her ear. "Well, I really don't think that they...um...went all the way or anything. I mean...he wouldn't do that, would he?" She was beginning to be unsure of what exactly she did see._

_ "I sure hope not." Shirley stated. "So what happened when the movie was over?"_

_ Laurie shrugged. "Nothing. They drove away."_

_ "Do you know where they went?" Shirley asked._

_ "I don't know. They actually drove off before the movie ended. I assume he took her home...or something." She cringed. That last part hadn't sounded right. _

_ Shirley put a comforting hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Go on up to bed. I'll wait for him to come home. He's got some explaining to do, I think." _

_ "Okay. G'night." She placed a quick kiss on her mother's cheek and turned toward the staircase. The look on her face indicated that she realized that she had more than likely just gotten her brother in a lot of trouble. _

_ Danny quickly got up and moved quietly to his room. _

_ Oboy, Keith was in serious hot water this time! It would be very interesting to see how this all would play out in the morning._

_ Sunday morning came quickly. Danny got up early once again, this time to see if he could find out what happened with Keith. As he passed his older brother's bedroom, he noticed that the door was open, so he snuck a peek inside. _

_ Weird...he wasn't there. His brother was not a morning person at all, unless of course, he had something musical or fun on his agenda. He noticed that the bed was made. Was it because Keith made it himself before heading somewhere? Unlikely, but not totally impossible. Or did he not sleep in his bed last night? Danny hurried down the stairs, hoping to find out._

_ Shirley was on the sofa, sound asleep. Still dressed in her night clothes and robe, she had slumped back into a partially reclined position. It was obvious that she had fallen asleep waiting up for Keith. It appeared that his older brother hadn't come home last night. Not a good scenario. _

_ "Mom?" Danny shook her shoulder gently. "Mom...wake up." _

_ Shirley stirred and slowly opened her eyes .Then they went wide as she realized that she had fallen asleep waiting up for Keith to return from his date. She seemed to remember her conversation with Laurie and hurriedly got up from the sofa. _

_ "Danny, what time is it?" There was a sense of urgency in her voice. Keith should have awakened her when he got in..._

_ "Um...not quite 6:30." He said hesitantly. Not because he didn't know the time. He was unsure of how his mother would react when she found out the Keith hadn't come home._

_ She succeeded in composing herself and smoothed out her robe while she headed for the staircase. A look of dread crossed her pretty features, she didn't like reprimanding any of her children, but... "I have to have a talk with your brother. Would you..."_

_ Danny tugged on the sleeve of her robe as he interrupted her. "Mom-he's not up there."_

_ She stopped dead in her tracks and spun around to stare at her middle son. "What do you mean, 'he's not up there?' Where else would he be?"_

_ "He's not in his room." Danny offered. All of a sudden, he saw the fear in her eyes and back peddled. "Maybe he's in the garage. You know. Working on a song or something." He said hopefully. _

_ Shirley relaxed a bit and forced a smile. "You're probably right. I'll go check. I need to speak to him alone for a bit, please see that we're not disturbed." _

_ "Sure." Danny nodded. He sat on the sofa and watched his mother go out the back door with a grim look on her face. He was preparing to sneak up to the garage door to eavesdrop, when she came hurrying back into the house. _

_ "He's not there either!" She exclaimed. "Danny, are you positive that he's not in his room or anywhere else upstairs?" Without waiting for his reply, she gathered her robe up and hurried up the staircase. _

_ Upstairs, he could hear her opening doors and slamming them shut again. It seemed like she was going to tear the house apart looking for him. Moments later, she came back downstairs, a sleep ruffled Laurie right behind her. _

_ Laurie exchanged worried glances with Danny. "Mom, let me call Gordy's house. Maybe he knows what might have happened." _

_ Shirley waited patiently as Laurie called Keith's friends. No one had seen him since yesterday morning._

_ Danny could almost see the wheels of her mind working. Had something terrible happened to her son, something that had prevented his safe return home?_

_ "Oh God, please..." she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut and silently prayed._

_ Laurie saw the worried look on her mother's face and tried to comfort her. "I'm sure there's a logical explanation as to why he didn't come home. Maybe he got stranded or something." _

_ "Yeah, maybe his car got stuck in some mud or something when he parked it, and they had to spend the night in the car." Danny offered helpfully._

_ They all stopped as the kitchen door opened, revealing a very disheveled Keith. His normally picture perfect dark locks were dirty and tangled. There were several buttons obviously missing from his partially un-tucked shirt, exposing his bare chest. He looked to be on the verge of collapse. _

_ "Keith!" Shirley ran to him as he stumbled into one of the chairs at the table. His dirt smeared skin was deathly pale and his usually bright eyes were dull and unresponsive. She noticed that the collar of his jacket was turned up, effectively covering his neck. When she tried to move the material away from his skin, he pulled away from her violently. _

_ "No! Don't touch me!" His hand went to his throat in protection as he snarled at her agitatedly. This caused Shirley to pull back in shock. Dumbstruck, she watched as he slowly returned to his former trance-like state. _

_ She turned momentarily to her younger children and gave them orders. _

_ "Danny, get one of the wool blankets from the closet. Laurie, get Dr. Michaels on the phone and have him come out right away. The number is in the red address book near the phone. Tell him that Keith's been in some kind of accident." _

_ "Shouldn't we take him to the emergency room?" Danny asked, worriedly._

_ "Honey, I don't think we're going to get him to move. At least not without a lot of help." Shirley referred to the way Keith had just reacted to her touch. _

_ Danny thought about that for a moment and realized that she was right. He sure didn't want her to be alone in the car with him, should he become agitated again. He obviously wasn't himself._

_ The siblings once again, exchanged worried glances, then they sprang into action, eager to be of help. _

_ Danny returned quickly with the requested blanket, handed it to Shirley and backed a few paces away. He couldn't take his eyes from his brother's face. Was it his imagination, or was there a tinge of red shine in his eyes?_

_ Shirley immediately shook the blanket open and carefully placed it around Keith's shoulders. He silently wrapped it around himself and visibly shivered. _

_ Shirley was trying to get his attention, trying to get him to respond to her._

_ "Keith." She said gently. "Honey, talk to me. Please. Tell me what happened."_

_ "So tired. Need sleep." Came his monotone reply. It was as if he didn't hear her requests. "Cold..." He pulled the blanket around himself a little tighter. _

_ Laurie came back into the kitchen. "Dr. Michaels is on his way." She watched Keith curiously, "Did he say what happened?"_

_ Shirley shook her head. "No, he's not really responding to me at all. Laurie, let's see if we can get him to his room." _

_ "Sure. What do you want me to do?"_

_ "I'll be on this side, stand on his right and support him if he needs it. Be careful." _

_ Laurie nodded wordlessly and moved into position._

_ "Okay, sweetie. Let's get you upstairs and into bed." Shirley said softly. "Maybe you'll feel better after you get some rest." Shirley took his hand and pulled on it gently, while bracing herself for another outburst._

_ To her surprise he simply got up and allowed both her and Laurie to lead him through the kitchen, into the dining room and up the staircase. _

_ From the upper landing, Shirley called instructions down. "Danny, watch for Dr. Micheals and bring him up here as soon as he arrives." _

_ "Okay Mom." _

_ Dr. Michaels had arrived in record time. Now he followed Shirley out of Keith's room where he had executed a brief examination. She had been present during the exam, refusing to leave her son's side. Keith had obviously remained in an almost catatonic state during the whole process. After closing Keith's bedroom door, Shirley turned to the doctor. _

_ "What's wrong with him Dr. Michaels?" _

_ The doctor set his black medical bag on the floor and addressed the frightened mother. First, he looked around. "Are the rest of the kids downstairs?"_

_ "Yes. Laurie's making breakfast for the three younger children." Shirley confirmed their privacy. _

_ "I gave him something to help him sleep for the rest of the day; so right now, he's resting comfortably. His blood pressure is low and his body temperature is a bit too cool for my liking; he must have spent the night out in the open. I gave him a course of antibiotics and a tetanus shot; he has what looks to be some kind of animal bite on the lower part of his neck. As a matter of fact it's almost on his shoulder." He indicated the site by putting his hand on the juncture where the neck muscles meet the shoulder. _

_ "A bite wound!" Shirley exclaimed in shock as she glanced at Keith's closed bedroom door. "Do you think he was attacked by some kind of animal?"_

_ The doctor nodded. "Yes, my best educated guess at this time would be some kind of large dog, perhaps a coyote. There have been a few reports of attacks on family pets...but this would be the first attack on a human. We won't know for sure until we can talk to him. The puncture marks are rather sizable. The only thing that puzzles me is how perfectly round they are. I'd say that he's lucky to be alive. Shirley...I don't want to be so...graphic, but in my experience, any canine going for the throat like that is aiming to kill; he could have had his throat torn wide open. I honest-to-God don't know how he got away." _

_ Shirley sagged against the wall. "Oh..." All color had drained from her face, as she realized the graveness of the situation. _

_ "Shirley, are you alright?" Alarmed, Dr. Michaels reached over and took hold of her elbow to steady her. He was prepared to catch her if she should faint._

_ She nodded weakly. "Yes...I think so." She did her best to give him a small smile to let him know that she was indeed okay. She took a few seconds to pull herself together, then asked her next question._

_ "Are any complications expected? What should I watch out for?" _

_ The doctor looked at her gravely, "I took a blood sample from him for testing."_

_ "What kind of testing?" Shirley didn't like Dr. Michaels expression._

_ He sighed heavily. "Rabies." At Shirley's gasp, he put his hand up. "Now before you get too worried, I already gave him the first of several injections; a vaccine if you will. I want you to know that it's a precaution, since we don't have the animal in question available for testing or observation. If the sample I took today comes through clear of the disease, then we'll have nothing to worry about. If I find anything...well then we'll have to go through with the rest of the injections. Keith could be in for a rough ride for the next few days."_

_ Shirley nodded silently, as she took in this horrible news._

_ The doctor waited a few moments to let her absorb the information that he had just given her. Then he continued._

_ "Right now, I want to elevate his temperature; get it back to normal, so make sure he stays well covered, put an extra blanket or two on him. A heating pad set on low or a hot water bottle would be good too. Check him every hour or so, it won't be necessary to use a thermometer, just check by touch. But on the other hand, if he develops a fever, I'll want an actual reading before you call. The antibiotics that I gave him, plus the dressing that I put on the wound itself, should take care of any infection that might be present. I would keep it covered until tomorrow. I'd like for him to stay quiet for the next couple of days...complete bed rest for tonight and definitely no school tomorrow, I'll come by and check on him in the morning." He bent to pick up his bag from the floor, then started for the stairs. "I'll have the results of the blood test in a few hours, I'll let you know as soon as I can." _

_ Shirley followed him down the staircase. "Thank you so much for coming out right away, Doctor. I don't know what I'd do without you." _

_ As they arrived at the front door, he paused and turned to her with a reassuring smile. "Not a problem, Shirley. You've got a great bunch of kids. I'm sure he'll be just fine. He's young, strong and healthy. He'll bounce right back, you'll see." _

_ "Thanks again." Shirley smiled gratefully as she saw the doctor out the door._

_ For once, Danny was thankful for the thin walls that separated the upstairs rooms. He had been in his room during the examination and subsequent conversation in the hallway. He had heard every single word spoken. Now he stood in the hallway and stared at Keith's closed bedroom door. Carefully, he edged his way over to it and silently opened the door. He just had to get a closer look at his older brother; for his own piece of mind. _

_ Downstairs, Shirley was turning away from the front door, when Chris, Tracy and Laurie came out of the kitchen. _

_ "Momma, what's the matter with Keith, is he sick again?" Tracy was remembering the time, not too long ago, when her oldest brother had an appendicitis attack and had to be rushed to the hospital in the middle of the night. It had frightened her to see Keith in so much pain._

_ Laurie met her mother's worried gaze, her own questions evident in her intense blue eyes._

_ Shirley forced a smile on her face. "Yes, I'm afraid so sweetheart. We'll have to make sure that he's not disturbed for the rest of the day. What he needs most of all right now is a lot of rest." _

_ Chris' eyes grew wide. "Is he gonna get better? He promised that he'd help me with my Pinewood Derby car." _

_ Laurie watched her mother deal with her younger siblings' curiosity. "I'm sure Keith will be much better in a few days, Chris. You've got plenty of time to finish your car...right Mom?" She substantiated her mother's explanation. _

_ Shirley nodded gratefully. "I'm sure he'll be lots better by then. I've an idea. Why don't I see if Mrs. Monahan is available for the afternoon? I'll bet she could use some help making a batch of those delicious brownies."_

_ She was met with enthusiasm from both young children. They really enjoyed spending time with their kindly neighbor. She had a knack for making them feel more grownup, as she let them do minor things for her around the house. Whenever she agreed to watch the younger children, they usually came home with the proud feeling that they had done her a favor. _

_ Shirley smiled faintly as she went to the phone. _

_ Upstairs, in Keith's room, Danny had just shut the door quietly behind him, and now was standing at his brother's bedside, observing him closely and taking mental notes; his normally tanned complexion was very pale and his breathing seemed abnormally slow and shallow. When he reached out to touch Keith's bare arm, Danny pulled back in alarm. It wasn't exactly cold, but it sure wasn't normal. He stared at the white bandage that was covering the lower left side of Keith's neck. He wanted so badly to peel the tape away and peer underneath it. Then he studied his brother's mouth. He desperately wanted to see his brother's famous smile, he ached to prove to himself that there wasn't anything there to be concerned about...like fangs._

_ Making his mind up, he moved a bit closer to the bed and slowly reached over, tentatively touching Keith's cool, pale features. Testing the waters, he gently poked his brother on the side of his chin. No response, nothing. He poked a bit harder this time and got the same result. No movement. It sent chills up and down his spine. Taking a deep breath, he gently, but firmly put a finger between Keith's lips and began to part them. _

_ Without warning, a snarl came from deep within Keith's throat as his eyes flew open to glare menacingly at his younger brother. Danny gasped involuntarily and jumped backwards, causing him to bang into the dresser. What he saw almost made his heart stop...Keith's eyes...they were black! It was as if the pupils had dilated to the point of wiping out the the natural eye color. Normally, his older brother's hazel eyes reflected his mood, sometimes even varying with his choice of clothing. The more upset Keith became-the darker his eyes appeared. Keith had given him dirty looks before, but this was ridiculous! _

_ Either his brother had a major drug problem or..._

_ As Keith's eyes closed again, Danny realized too late that he didn't look to see what his teeth looked like. _

_ Shirley opened the door, several blankets in her arms. _

_ "Oh Danny! What are you doing in here?" Her worried gaze traveled from Danny to Keith and back to Danny again. She saw the look fear of on his young freckled face and obviously mistook it for brotherly concern. _

_ Totally taken by surprise, all Danny could do was prattle on guiltily. "Mom! I was just...uh checking on Keith! You know...to see if he needed anything...like an extra blanket or something." He was inspired as he caught sight of the blankets in his mother's arms._

_ Her demeanor softened somewhat. "That's really sweet of you, honey! Here, you can help me get these on him. The doctor wants him to be kept as warm as possible." She put her burden down, selected a single blanket and shook it out. Danny helped her silently, all the while keeping an eye on Keith's still form. _

_ They were about to leave the room, when Shirley decided to check Keith's temperature. She peeled back a corner of the blanket, exposing Keith's arm and touched him gently. _

_ Keith's eyes opened slowly and he looked up at her. "Mom?" He said weakly. "What...what's going on? Where am I?" He looked disoriented._

_ Danny was astonished to see that his older brother appeared and sounded completely normal! Well almost normal; he did look awfully tired. He stood back and kept a watchful eye on the two of them, readying himself for anything unexpected._

_ "It's okay, sweetheart," Shirley soothed. She sat on the edge of the bed and gently stroked his dark locks. "You're safe at home. Everything's going to be okay."_

_ A look of total confusion crossed Keith's features as he attempted to sit up. "What happened..." He suddenly winced and collapsed, completely exhausted, back against his pillow. _

_ She frowned slightly. "I was sort of hoping that you could tell me. You didn't come home from your date last night You had us pretty worried." _

_ Keith hesitated as he tried to recall the last 12 hours. "I...I don't remember...anything." He moved his head in agitation and discovered that his movement was somewhat restricted. His hand went to the bandage on his lower neck. _

_ "Shhh, it's okay. You don't have to remember anything right now. Just concentrate on getting better, okay?" _

_ "Better? What's wrong with me?" Keith wanted to know, worry showing in his eyes as his questing fingers traveled over the white gauze. _

_ Shirley threw a look at Danny as he stood nearby. "Danny, could you please leave us alone? I need to talk to Keith privately." _

_ He glanced at his brother and met his clear, unmarred gaze. He could see confusion and worry in Keith's eyes. He nodded wordlessly and exited the room, leaving the door slightly ajar; just enough to hear what was going to be said. He told himself that this was no longer a matter of simple curiosity, but a matter of life and death for his whole family._

_ Shirley waited patiently until Danny was well out of the room before she turned to her eldest son. She met his gaze. _

_ "Mom?" Keith prodded her uneasily. _

_ She hesitated, trying to find the right words. "Keith...Dr. Michaels thinks that you were attacked by some kind of animal-probably a large dog. Does that ring any bells? Do you remember seeing a dog anywhere?"_

_ "Attacked? By a dog?" He shook his head again. Feeling the restriction of the bandage prompted him to reach up and stroke it absentmindedly. "No, I don't remember anything...like that." _

_ "What about your date...Adrian? What happened to her?" _

_ "I...I'm pretty sure that I dropped her off at her house. We said goodbye...and I got back into the car to head home."_

_ Shirley nodded. At least she knew that the girl was safe. "Do you remember what happened to your car? It's not here, so we assumed that you walked home from whereever this happened." _

_ "No." _

_ "Well, we'll worry about that later. I'm sure it'll turn up and there's a logical explanation for everything. You just concentrate on getting some sleep. We'll talk about this when you're feeling better." She stood up, turned to make sure the blankets were tucked securely around him and headed toward the door. _

_ "I'll check in on you in a little while. I want you to rest-get your strength back." _

_ When Danny realized that his mother was leaving Keith's room, he moved quickly out of the hallway and ducked into his room. _

_ What on earth was going on?_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 **

Danny came down for breakfast the next day and was surprised to see Keith and Laurie sitting at the table. Keith was reading the sports section of the paper, and drinking a cup of coffee. Laurie was munching a bowl of cold cereal while perusing the front page of the morning paper. Chris and Tracy had just left for school.

"What are you doing up? Shouldn't you be in bed?" Danny exclaimed.

"Uh...it's Monday, we usually go to school..." Keith replied, obviously baffled. He glanced at Laurie, who had looked up at Danny's little outburst. "Why should I be in bed?"

Ignoring Keith's question, Danny eyed his brother's throat. He was astonished to see that it was completely unmarred; no bandage, no wound, not even a scar.

Keith squirmed under his brother's surveillance and scowled at him. "What are you staring at?"

"Uh...nothing." Danny grabbed an apple from the large bowl on the table and made for the back door.

"Aren't you going to eat breakfast?" Laurie called after him.

"No. I'm not hungry. This will hold me over til lunchtime." The back door banged shut and he was gone.

Keith and Laurie exchanged puzzled glances.

"What in the world was that all about?" Laurie wondered out loud.

Keith shrugged and returned to the sports section. "I've no idea."

"Well, something's not right. Danny never skips meals."

Shirley walked into the kitchen and headed toward the sink, intent on taking care of the morning dishes. She hesitated in the middle of the room. "Where's Danny? I thought he came downstairs."

"He left for school already." Keith offered, his eyes still on the sports article.

Shirley frowned. "Without eating breakfast?"

"I know it's hard to believe, but no, he didn't have any breakfast. He sure was acting weird though." Laurie got up from the table, carrying her empty bowl and juice glass to the sink.

"Really?" Shirley inquired, as she continued her path to the sink and turned the hot water on.

Laurie turned, leaned against the counter, folded her arms across her chest and leveled her suspicious gaze at her older brother. "Yeah. I'd be willing to bet that Keith knows something more than he's telling."

"Me?" Keith looked up from the sports section. "Why would I know what's wrong with him?"

Laurie pushed herself away from the counter and approached the table. She stopped directly in front of him. "I'd say that it was the way he acted toward you. Like he didn't want to be in the same room with you. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you two have had an argument of some kind."

"No." Keith denied.

"Well, he sure acted funny toward you. Didn't you notice?"

Exasperated, Keith folded the newspaper, got up from the table and pushed past her. He took his half full coffee cup and deposited it on the counter near Shirley, who was busy rinsing dishes and loading the dishwasher. "Danny always acts funny. It's when he acts normal, that I get worried." He glanced at the clock and scooped up his books from the counter. "If you're ready Miss Partridge, your chariot awaits you." He glared at her as he gestured toward the back door with an exaggerated sweep of his arm.

Laurie rolled her eyes as she picked up her purse and school books. She walked out the door without saying another word.

"Bye Mom." Keith smiled at her before following his sister out to the car.

"Bye kids, have a good day." Shirley called after them as she shut the dishwasher door. She didn't give the situation another thought as she began to plan her day.

During Study Hall, Danny sat by himself at a table near the back of the library. He had quite a few books open in front of him as he wrote furiously in his notebook.

Punky plopped down in the chair next to him.

"I'm bored. Whatcha doin'?" Punky whispered.

Danny visibly jumped, obviously startled. "Geez Punk!" He whispered vehemently. "Knock it off, you're gonna get us in trouble!"

"Sorry." Punky quickly apologized. He nodded toward the open books before Danny. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Danny hissed. He was losing his patience. "I'm working on my book report. Something you should be doing too."

"Nah, I'll just copy something later on. What's your subject?"

"Dracula." Danny's reply was short.

Punky noticed Danny's attitude. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing." Danny sighed and put his pencil down.

"Sure. Okay." Punky sneered. "I don't believe you. C'mon, what gives?"

Danny looked at his friend for a few seconds. "There's something weird going on with Keith."

"Yeah?" Punky prodded. "Like what?"

"He's got this new girlfriend..."

Punky scoffed. "Sounds pretty normal to me!"

"I know, but...she's not normal." Danny's gaze went to the open book in front of him.

Punky's eyes followed Danny's and he laughed softly. "What? Are you tellin' me that she's a vampire or something?"

"No!" Danny's voice rose a notch. He cringed as he realized that they had caught the attention of the librarian. She was presently headed directly toward them. "Look, now you've gotten us in trouble. Just drop it, okay?"

"Okay, cool your jets Partridge. Sheesh." Punky moved away from Danny's table before the librarian got there, saving them an embarrassing confrontation.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4 **_

_ As the days turned into weeks, Danny kept a close watch on his older brother and began to take notes on his observations. _

_ Keith had taken to wearing sunglasses just about all the time; even indoors. He claimed that light bothered his eyes somewhat. When Shirley suggested that they have it checked out, he protested and told her that he was sure that it would resolve itself. His mother expressed her doubt, but she let him have his way. _

_ Another thing that Danny noticed (why wasn't anyone else noticing these strange abnormalities? Danny asked himself several times), was that Keith never really regained his coloring. His complexion remained pale. _

_ His brother's appetite was altogether cause for worry. Again, no one else seemed to notice or care (What the heck?). Keith's normally healthy appetite had waned a bit at first, but now it was downright scary. Danny rarely saw his brother put any real food in his mouth. The only thing that he seemed to want was red meat. Rare red meat. _

_ Then there was the new girlfriend, Adrian. The exchange student from who-knows-where._

_ Oh, she was a real looker alright. One of the things that he admired about his older brother, was his taste in girls. But Danny had never seen anyone like her before. She was so...achingly beautiful, it was scary. _

_ Danny and Punky had been in the park, tossing a Frisbee around. Dusk was settling in and they were getting ready to head home. A flash of movement in the corner of his eye caused him to pause and he turned to look. He was vaguely aware that the frisbee had hit him and fallen to the ground at his feet. He ignored it for now. _

_ She was dressed all in black, from the high heeled boots to the very short mini skirt, topped off with an extremely low cut blouse. It certainly accentuated her assets, Danny thought wryly. Nestled between those assets, lay a large red pendant that hung on a gold chain. As she got closer, he realized that it was a large ruby. She had long wavy, jet black hair; she was wearing it loose, so that the breeze blew it gently around her bewitchingly. It created a stark contrast to her pale skin and ruby red lips, which matched the color of her long fingernails. _

_ This was the first time that he'd seen her up close. Although she was wearing high heels, he could tell that she was of small stature. She walked with confidence toward them. As Danny watched her approach, mesmerized, their eyes momentarily met, she had a wild, hungry look in them. Danny gasped when he realized that her eyes were as black as night. With great effort, he looked away from her intense gaze. That's when he saw Keith. _

_ He seemed to appear from out of nowhere and stepped in front of her, putting himself between her and the two boys. He threw a look over his shoulder at them, and Danny saw a flash of anger on his brother's face. _

_ "Get out of here Danny. Go home." Keith's voice was low and steady. He sounded...funny. Danny had a feeling that he had just been given a warning. About what, he had an idea, but wasn't quite sure. _

_ He watched as Keith took ahold of the beautiful girl's arm and physically turned her around in the opposite direction. The girl didn't protest, she simply let Keith lead her away. Soon, they were out of the park. _

_ Punky had seen everything, and was now standing beside Danny._

_ He whistled lowly, "Whoa. Who was that?" He stared off in the general direction that they had disappeared. _

_ Danny shrugged as he bent to pick the flying disc up. "I guess that's his new girlfriend. I don't think she's from around here" He tried his best to sound casual._

_ "Damn." Punky swore softly. "Your brother has all the luck." He said admiringly. "She was one hot..."_

_ Danny didn't give him a chance to finish that thought. "Yeah. Whatever. Listen, I better get home, I've got to work on my report." He started to walk in the direction that the young couple had disappeared to._

_ "But Danny, your house is this way!" Punky called to Danny's retreating back as he gestured in the opposite direction._

_ "I've got something to do first. I'll see you in school tomorrow." Danny dismissed his friend with a wave and continued to follow Keith's trail. _

_ Punky shrugged to himself, turned and began to walk home. _

_ Danny emerged from the south end of the park and looked around for any sign of his brother. The coming darkness was making it a little difficult to see. Then he caught sight of Keith's car. It was parked in a very dark and secluded spot in the parking lot. As a matter of fact, it was in the very spot it had been found later on that fateful day. He began to carefully approach the back of the vehicle, doing his best to keep from being detected._

_ As he got closer, he saw movement from within. It took him a few moments to realize that Keith and the girl were in the back seat of the vehicle. Danny's heart began to pound as he moved in for a closer look. He had an idea of what was taking place, but couldn't seem to stop himself from trying to get a better look. He looked around for a good vantage point that would keep him from being discovered. His questing eyes settled on nearby flora. He cautiously made his way to it. _

_ He ended up behind a large bush about ten yards behind the parked vehicle. Now that he was closer, he could hear them too; the driver's side window was halfway down. Although Danny could hear the car radio faintly, he realized that he'd have to take extra care to be as quiet as possible. Every molecule in his body screamed at him to look away, to run. But his need to find out just what was happening to his older brother, overrode all the danger signals going off in his head. How could he help Keith if he didn't know for sure what he was up against? There had been so many warning signs in the last couple of weeks..._

_ As he squatted behind the bush and listened to the sounds coming from the back seat of his brother's car, Danny felt a deep flush spreading across his face. His face burned as he realized that the couple was actually having sex. Against his better judgment, he stole a look toward the car to confirm it. _

_ Keith was sitting in the middle of the back seat facing the front of the car. Thankfully, all Danny could actually see of him was the back of his head and shoulders. The girl was sitting astride him, facing Keith and the back of the car. Her eyes were closed but she had a look of total ecstasy on her perfect features, as she moved provocatively on his brother's lap. _

_ To Danny's horror, her eyes suddenly flew open and she stopped abruptly. She smiled wickedly as their eyes met, then continued her gyrations as she glared at Danny with red tinged eyes. Her mouth came open in an ugly snarl, exposing the elongated canine teeth. Danny gasped as she smiled evilly at him just before turning her attention back to her lover._

_ Making sure that Danny was still watching, she began to move with more urgency. She ran her hands through Keith's dark locks as she leaned in to kiss him. Suddenly, she grabbed a fistful of his hair and roughly turned his head aside, exposing his unprotected throat. She hesitated for a split second, again making eye contact with Danny before sinking her teeth into Keith's flesh._

_ Horrified, Danny heard Keith groan-either in pain or pleasure-he wasn't sure, but he decided that he had seen enough. He came crashing out of the bushes, his anger overriding his fear._

_ "HEY!" He shouted, as he raced toward the car. "GET YOUR PAWS OFF OF MY BROTHER, YOU BLOODSUCKING WHORE!"_

_ Keith seemed to come to his senses as Danny's angry voice cut through the near darkness. There was a small scuffle in the back of the car as the two lovers, having been caught in the act, separated and hurriedly righted their clothing. When Keith finally emerged from the car, he was far from happy._

_ "Danny? Are you freakin' kidding me?" Keith advanced on him, his formally pale skin was now reddened in anger. "Are you actually spying on me? Is that how you get your kicks?" _

_ Danny began to back away. His eyes automatically locking on the small amount of smeared blood on Keith's throat, then he reluctantly swung his gaze to his brother's eyes- they were murderously scarlet with rage. Surely, this was not the brother he knew so well! _

_ "Keith!" Danny held out his hands, trying to stave off what he perceived as an attack. "You gotta get away from her, don't you know what she is?" He was on the verge of hysteria and he fought to keep control of himself._

_ Keith stopped in his tracks and looked at him as if he had sprouted another head, "What the hell are you talking about?" He asked incredulously._

_ By this time, the 'girl' had extracted herself from the back seat of the car. She walked up behind Keith and gently took his hand in hers. "What's going on? Keith?" _

_ Danny scowled at her. "Shut up and get away from him or else..." _

_ "Or else what?" Keith put his arm around the girl's waist and pulled her in protectively, as he trembled with anger. His eyes were dark with ire, but they otherwise appeared normal to Danny. What the hell was going on?_

_ Danny's gaze fell on the girl again. He was dismayed to see that she appeared to be chagrined and totally normal looking. Her blue eyes were wide with...what? Apprehension? Fear? What would she have to fear from him? Discovery of her true identity? _

_ Danny swallowed hard. "I'll get a priest or something, I swear!"_

_ With a dumbfounded look on his face, Keith glanced at the beautiful girl at his side and almost laughed "Hey Danny, just because we were...busy, doesn't mean we need to get married." He looked at the beautiful female at his side. "No offense."_

_ She shook her head solemnly. "None taken." Her answer was short and sweet. But her eyes never left Danny's face. _

_ Keith looked back at his brother with an uncomfortable look on his face. "What exactly did you see? Or think you saw?" _

_ "She bit you!" Danny almost screamed at him. Why, oh why was he acting as if nothing horrible had just happened? _

_ Keith laughed nervously. "Danny. It's called a 'hickey.' It's not really a bite. Although some people would call it a 'love bite.'"He grinned devilishly at his lover beside him. _

_ "Yeah, right. Tell me another one, Keith." Danny crossed his arms across his chest in defiance. _

_ Keith lost his smile and threw his hands up in the air in exasperation. "I give up! Go on home, will ya? Tell Mom I won't be home for dinner. Adrian and I are going...out tonight." He reached for her left hand and clasped it in his. Slowly he brought it up to his lips and kissed her fingers gently. A total look of infatuation on his face. _

_ Adrian smiled lovingly at Keith, then turned her attention back to Danny. _

_ "Oh, what awful manners we have Keith! I haven't been formally introduced to anyone in your family?" She advanced one step toward Danny and offered her right hand to him. "My name is Adrian Tepesh. I recently moved here from..." _

_ Ignoring her hand, Danny interrupted her, instinctively stepping backwards. "Of course he hasn't introduced you to anyone... how do you introduce a vampire to your mother?" _

_ "Danny!" Keith''s eyes flashed black again as he dropped Adrian's hand in anger and began to advance on him, fists clenched at his sides. _

_ Danny didn't stick around long enough to complete the formal introduction to his brother's new girlfriend. _

_ Back at home, Danny had told his mother that he wasn't hungry and that he was going straight up to bed. To his astonishment, she hardly looked up from her preparations. He didn't get much of a reaction when he told her that Keith wouldn't be home for dinner that night either. Her lack of concern had him totally confused._

_ Up in his room, he began to skim through his library books, looking for any information that might help him save his brother-if it wasn't already too late. He forcefully pushed that thought from his mind. As he read, he slowly started to realize that he wasn't going to be able to do this by himself; he was going to need help from someone-but who? It would be great to have someone older, someone who he could lean on. Someone that wouldn't freak out on him and would keep a level head. Someone trustworthy._

_ Mom? Hmmm...somehow he didn't think that would be a good idea. She'd never take him seriously. _

_ What about Laurie? Nah. Somehow, Danny didn't quite see his older sister being of any help in a situation like this. She'd freak out for sure. It didn't take much these days. She just didn't have the stomach for it. Especially if it came down to...no, he wouldn't even think about that. _

_ Punky? Nah, he was too unreliable and flaky. The first sign of trouble, he'd book for sure. _

_ Mr. Kincade! He'd be perfect! Solid as a rock. A grown up that he could count on. _

_ Feeling a little better, Danny took out his notebook and began to gather information. He planned on being well prepared before he even thought about approaching the manager._

_ By the time his head hit the pillow, he was content with his decision to confide in their trusty manager._


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 **

Danny woke up the next morning feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. He was about to throw the covers back so he could get out of bed, when he noticed Chris, sitting on his bed across the room...staring at him. His expression was a mixture of mirth and puzzlement.

"What's up?" Danny greeted his brother as he pulled his blanket back and swung his legs over the side of the mattress.

Chris couldn't seem to hide his merriment. "Did you know that you talk in your sleep?" He asked.

"No. What did I say?" Danny responded cautiously, hoping that he hadn't blown it.

The young boy put his hand up to his mouth in mock horror as his eyes widened. "Vampires! Aaaahhhh!" He exclaimed with feeling.

"What?" Danny did his best to sound skeptical. "No way!"

Chis dropped his horror-stricken expression and nodded. "Yeah, and you kept saying Mr. Kincaid's name. Did you dream that he's a vampire or something?"

"I don't remember." Danny shrugged nonchalantly as he got out of bed. He headed to the closet, where he found his robe and slippers. Shuffling into the indoor footwear, he slipped into the well worn robe. His mom had wanted to replace it a while ago, but he talked her out of it. He really liked how it felt and as long as it still fit, why bother?

He changed the subject. "I don't know about you, but I'm starving. I hope Mom's making something good for breakfast this morning." He opened the bedroom door and stepped into the hallway.

After the usual morning arguments with his siblings about time spent in the bathroom, Danny-now fully dressed and ready for the day-hurried downstairs. Chris was hot on his heels. The heavenly smell of frying bacon invaded his sense of smell as soon as he stepped into the living room. His mouth watered with anticipation. Tracy was already seated at the kitchen table, polishing off the last of her eggs. Laurie set a plate of food in front of them as they sat down next to Tracy. It was then that he noticed the absence of one Keith Partridge.

Feeling a bit anxious, Danny tried to sound casual. "Where's Keith?" He asked, digging into his food.

Shirley cracked a couple more eggs into the hot frying pan and a loud sizzle erupted. "He's not feeling well this morning, so I'm keeping him home from school."

Feeling his stomach drop about a hundred miles an hour, Danny put his fork down. "What's wrong with him?"

"It's probably a case of influenza. I've heard that there's something going around. I sure hope that no one else comes down with it." Shirley shuddered inwardly; the thought of all five kids sick with the flu at the same time made her cringe.

Danny wasn't hungry any longer. Things were escalating frighteningly now. He was going to have to talk to Reuben...today.

"Uh, Mom? Do you have any idea if Mr. Kincaid is in town?" The manager kept an apartment in San Pueblo, but his job duties sometimes took him out of town; sometimes even out of state.

Shirley shook her head. "Danny, you know he's on vacation this week, visiting his mother. Why do you ask?" She turned from the hot stove to meet his gaze.

Danny's heart joined his stomach; he had forgotten that. If Reuben wasn't available, what was he going to do? He was going to have to come up with a different plan. And fast.

He pushed his chair back and got up. "Uh...nothing. I was just curious." He quickly went through the kitchen door and headed upstairs to get dressed and grab his school books. "I think I'll get going now, I want to work on my book report."

Laurie stared after him. "Wow. That's the second time in as many days that he's done that."

"Done what, honey?" Shirley sat down at the table and took a cautious sip from her steaming mug of coffee.

Laurie turned to look at her mother. "Left the house without eating breakfast. Didn't you notice?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact I have." Shirley picked the newspaper up and opened the front page, seemingly unconcerned.

"Well, don't you think that he's been acting funny lately? I mean, isn't not eating bad for kids his age?"

Shirley smiled understandingly as she put her coffee mug back on the table top. "Actually, it's quite normal. When you and Keith were his age, you went through the same thing. During growth spurts, a child can be ravenously hungry no matter how much they eat.; Keith was terrible, I couldn't keep up with him. Your father used to joke that he had a hollow leg. But when they're not growing, well...it's the complete opposite, as you just witnessed. Danny is obviously between growth spurts. Don't worry too much about it, Laurie. I'm keeping an eye on him."

"Sure. That makes sense. I guess if anyone would know, it would be you." Laurie nodded thoughtfully and smiled.

Chris had just finished his breakfast and was taking his dishes to the sink. "If you ask me, I think Danny is being weird. He was talking in his sleep this morning...something about vampires. Sounded like a bad dream to me."

Shirley turned to look at her youngest son with interest. "Oh, really?"

"Yeah. I think he was dreaming that Mr. Kincaid had turned into a vampire or something." Chris shrugged, completely unaware that he had just landed Danny in a bit of hot water.

The pretty young mother of five sighed tiredly. "Well, I guess I'll have to pull the plug on the chosen subject for his book report after all."

Laurie felt that she had to go to bat for him. "Oh Mom, he's done so much research and I think he's almost done with the book report."

"Really?" Shirley was torn. She certainly didn't want to see Danny have to start all over again; he probably wouldn't make the deadline and then he'd receive a lower grade.

Laurie said nothing, but nodded earnestly.

"Alright. I'll just have to keep a closer eye on his projects from now on." She stood up and went to the kitchen sink with her mug. "I have to pick up some flu medicine for your brother, so I can drop you off at school on my way to the store if you like." She offered Laurie.

"Yeah, that would be great. It didn't dawn on me until just now that I wouldn't have a ride to school since Keith is sick today." Laurie stood up as well. "I can get a ride home with Sally."

"Hey! What about me and Tracy!" Chris said, gesturing toward his baby sister.

"Tracy and I." Shirley corrected him gently. "Honey, your school is just down a couple of blocks, you don't need a ride." She reminded him.

"Yeah, but it'd be cool, we never get a ride!" Tracy declared with indignation.

Shirley sighed contentedly. "Okay, okay." She said with a little laugh. "We'll leave in ten minutes. I want to check on Keith before we leave."

The two youngest Partridges high-fived each other. "Cool!" They said almost in unison.

Just then, Danny came flying down the stairs books tucked safely under his arm. "Mom! Keith just got sick all over his bed." He quickly made good his escape as he bounded out the door.

"Oh dear..." Shirley headed toward the staircase.

Laurie followed her. "I'll help, maybe it's not that bad..."

A few minutes earlier, after having retrieved his school books from his room, Danny stopped by Keith's room; the door was slightly ajar, so he quietly pushed it open and tip-toed inside.

He noticed that his brother's complexion was a bit flushed. Then he visually checked Keith's throat for the tell-tale twin puncture wounds or scars at the very least. He was somewhat relieved to see that it was clear. Then a sudden thought put him on edge again; just because his throat was unmarred, it certainly didn't mean that he didn't have the piercings in a more inconspicuous location; someplace that was normally covered by clothing. He quickly scanned Keith's exposed skin, which wasn't much, seeing as he was wearing long-sleeved pajamas, and was covered up to his chest with a couple of blankets. So far, his hands and wrists were clear. Desperation caused him to briefly consider carefully pulling the blankets away, but he quickly discarded that thought. The pajamas were still an obstacle. The risk of waking his brother was far too great.

Well, at least he seemed to be resting peacefully...almost too peacefully, Danny thought with sudden panic. He quickly bent over his brother's sleeping form, held his breath and listened carefully. Keith had never snored, as far as he knew, but now he could barely hear him breathing. He briefly touched the back of his hand, and was comforted to feel the heat of a fever and not the coldness that he had expected. He stepped back to take in the scene around him.

As he scanned the room, looking for...well, he wasn't sure _what_ he was looking for. Something out of place, maybe? He thought he might know it if he saw it.

Then, as if some outside force pointed him toward it, he saw just what he was searching for.

Keith's window was wide open.

Cautiously, Danny moved to the open window and looked out into the backyard. His eyes quickly scanned the perimeter of the grounds. Satisfied that everything seemed to be in order, he began to withdraw from the window, his questing eyes cast downward for a few seconds. He froze in his tracks as he saw the trellis. How could he have forgotten about it? He knew for a fact that it could hold someone of Keith's weight and height; and most definitely, someone a bit smaller. He remembered a few years ago, back when their father had still been alive, Danny had caught Keith sneaking back into his room late one night, when he was supposed to have been grounded. He had been able to hold that juicy tidbit over his older brother's head for a long time. It was the perfect way to sneak in or out of the house undetected by anyone except Keith. Danny remembered that a vampire couldn't enter a human dwelling unless they were invited by the occupant. Keith must have asked her in at some point earlier, so he was apparently already under her evil spell.

As Danny stood there and pondered everything, Keith suddenly became restless. He moaned softly, murmuring unintelligible words.

Keith's eyes slowly opened, his face was extremely pale. "Oh God..." He was trying to sit up when he abruptly vomited onto the blanket "Danny...go get Mom..." He fell back into his pillow, looking worse for wear.

Danny gripped his books and ran from the room. He tore down the stairs as fast as he could, shouted to his mother that Keith needed her and left the house.

As Danny walked to school, his mind was shifting into overdrive. Maybe Keith's body was trying to purge itself of whatever poison the vampire had introduced into his system. He suddenly had new hope, maybe this was the break that he was looking for.

He spent the rest of the school day in a fog, waiting for an opportunity to place his call for help.


	6. Chapter 6

_**CHAPTER 6 **_

_ Danny couldn't believe his luck. Mr. Kincaid must have returned from his vacation early, because he answered his phone almost immediately. He readily agreed to meet Danny in the park. All Danny would tell him, was that they were going to have a major problem with Keith if he didn't get help soon. In hindsight, Danny realized that he had made it sound as if Keith was strung out on drugs or something. Well, he figured whatever it took to get Mr. Kincaid's attention, would be worth it. Now all he had to do was convince him that Keith was in danger of becoming one of the 'Undead.' _

_ To his amazement, it didn't take a lot of convincing to get Mr. Kincaid on board. Oh, he scoffed at first, but when Danny presented the evidence to him (Keith's physical appearance and weird behavior. Not to mention that Adrians last name-Tepesh-was very similar, to Dracula's real surname-Tepes. According to all the books), there was no mistaking the danger to the eldest Partridge sibling. Then things began to move along pretty fast._

_ With a little sleuthing on his part, the manager was able to pinpoint the lair of the vampire. As a matter of fact, by this time, Danny was pretty sure that she wasn't the only bloodsucker in the neighborhood. There seemed to be a small coven of them living in the old abandoned Tate house on the edge of town. Once they had pinpointed the location of their resting place, Danny and Reuben took turns with surveillance of the building. They had both observed the comings and goings of not only Adrian, but two others; a male and another female. It became apparent that they were together as a couple. It began to dawn on both Mr. Kincaid and himself, that since Adrian seemed to be unattached, she had probably set her sights on Keith for her 'mate.' _

_ Meanwhile, Keith was spending less time at home and more time with Miss Tepesh. Danny even followed them to the Tate house once, where they spent most of the night that time. At least Danny had never observed either of them leaving by the front door until Keith left the residence just before dawn. _

_ Danny and Reuben began to make plans to visit the abandoned, run down house in the daytime, when it would be safer to check things out and get the layout of the house. Vampires slept during the day...right? _

_ The next Saturday morning, Reuben stopped by the house and picked Danny up. Today would be the day that they were going to the Tate house. They made up some excuse as to where they were going and everyone seemed to buy it. At least no one asked any questions. _

_ As they pulled up to the front of the abandoned house, Danny noted that there weren't any natural sounds coming from the area. It was a beautiful, sunny day, but the atmosphere was silent; no chirping or singing birds, no buzzing insects, nothing. It was eerily silent. _

_ The pair walked up the cracked and broken sidewalk to the front porch. Danny automatically reached out and rang the doorbell._

_ Reuben was horrified as he pulled Danny's hand away from the button belatedly. "What the hell are you doing? Do you think they're going to answer the door and let us in or something?" _

_ Danny shrugged sheepishly. "I dunno. I guess old habits die hard." _

_ "That's a hellava thing to say under the circumstances, don't you think?" Reuben growled as he looked around nervously. _

_ Danny ignored him. "So...what are we going to do...just walk in?" _

_ "No...at least not yet. First we look through the windows and see if there's any sign that someone's been living here. You go around back and I'll search up front. Be careful."_

_ Danny took in a deep breath. "Okay." He walked down the front steps and began to make his way through the over grown yard to the back of the house. _

_ From what Danny could see through the dirt and dust smeared windows, no one was home. There was no sign of life whatsoever in the crumbling abode. The house and yard had obviously been neglected for quite some time. _

_ At the back door, his heart nearly stopped as he detected movement from within. Getting ready to run, he realized that it was Mr. Kincaid walking toward him in the kitchen._

_ The manager opened the back door. "C'mon in. No one's here at the moment." _

_ Danny regained his composure. "How did you get in?"_

_ "The front door was unlocked...or should I say the lock was broken. I opened the door and walked in." _

_ "Figures." Danny replied. "Let's just look around quick and get the hell out of here. This is giving me the creeps." _

_ Reuben looked around at the disarray and clutter. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Let's stay together though. For safety's sake." _

_ "Okay. Sure." Danny readily agreed. He certainly didn't want to be alone in this place. Not even for a second. _

_ They made quick work of looking around. They found nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing to indicate that anyone lived here recently. The place was a shambles. _

_ They were getting ready to leave, when Danny thought of something. _

_ "What about the basement?" _

_ "What about it?" Reuben replied testily. _

_ "We need to check it out, don't ya think?" _

_ The manager sighed heavily. "Yeah. I suppose." _

_ They made quick work of finding the basement door and they carefully headed down the creaky wooden steps. A strong, musty odor drifted up toward them as they slowly went down the stairs. Obviously, it had been quite a while since this house had been inhabited by humans. Danny was glad that they had thought to bring some powerful flashlights as the electricity seemed to have been turned off. The basement light switch didn't respond to repeated attempts to turn it on. _

_ Halfway down the stairs, Danny began to play his light around the dark room. They noticed heavy draperies covering the basement windows, effectively blocking out any natural light from the outside. The powerful beam suddenly picked up some large dark forms in the far corner._

_ "Oh my god..." Danny whispered. _

_ "What?" Reuben shone his light in the same direction. _

_ Both beams lit up four dark coffins. Four. _

_ "There's only three of them, right?" Danny whispered. _

_ "As far as we know." Reuben confirmed. "And there's only one way to know for sure. We're gonna have to open those and look inside each one." _

_ Danny tried to sound brave. "Right." Every muscle in his body was screaming at him to run. Run far and fast. _

_ They descended the rest of the stairs and quickly got to work. _

_ Thankfully, the coffins were wooden and therefore the lids were relatively light. They made quick work of opening them, confirming its occupant and promptly replacing the lid of the first three. _

_ Indeed, the bodies of Adrian and her two cohorts were residing in each one. _

_ They hesitated at the fourth. _

_ "This is either going to have someone we haven't seen yet...or it'll be empty." Reuben stated. He looked at the frightened boy beside him. "You know what it means if it's empty, right?" _

_ Danny swallowed hard and looked at the older man bravely. "Yeah. It's meant for Keith." _

_ Reuben nodded solemnly. "Right. Let's get this over with." He moved to the last dark box. _

_ Danny held his breath as the man whom he'd begun to think of as a father figure, slowly lifted the lid of the coffin. _

_ Empty. _

_ Reuben confirmed the vacancy and gently set the lid down. _

_ "Okay. Now what do we do?" Danny wanted to know, even though he thought he already knew the answer to that one. _

_ Reuben turned and started for the stairs with the young red-head close on his heels. "I guess the two of us will have to come back here early tomorrow morning...and destroy these monsters before they do any more harm to Keith. Hopefully, it's not too late." _

_ "Why can't we do it now and get it over with?" Danny implored nervously as they reached the top of the staircase._

_ "We've got to get a few things together. Like some Holy Water, a couple of crucifixes, three wooden stakes and one large mallet."_

_ "Where are we gonna get Holy Water?" Danny was aghast. Was all of this really happening? Everything felt so surreal. _

_ "I'll take care of everything, don't worry." The older man assured him. "These bloodsuckers have messed with the wrong family." _

_ Danny was really beginning to get frightened. Mr. Kincaid had a funny look on his face; an expression that he had never seen before on the manager's face. It was a mixed look of anger, determination and fierceness. They walked out of the house together and headed toward the manager's car. _

_ A thought occurred to the boy as he opened the passenger side door. "Hey, maybe we should get a priest involved or something! Don't ya think that would be a good idea? I think we need all the help we can get." He was trying to squelch the sound of desperation in his voice. _

_ "There's not enough time. Besides, they'd think we were nuts and probably put us under observation in some mental ward. We'd be of no help to Keith then, would we?" Reuben slid behind the steering wheel, put the key in the ignition and fired up the motor. _

_ Danny swallowed. "No, I guess we wouldn't." He sat back and tried to prepare himself mentally for what was to come. _

_ A few minutes later, Reuben dropped Danny off at the house. _

_ "I'll pick you up bright and early tomorrow morning. Keep an eye on your brother and call me if anything changes. Anything at all." _

_ "Yeah. Okay." Danny replied dully before letting himself out of the car._

_ "Danny?"_

_ The troubled young boy turned and leaned in through the open window of the vehicle "Yeah."_

_ "Don't worry. I'll take care of everything. It'll be okay." The manager tried to comfort the obviously distraught boy. _

_ Danny nodded, but deep down inside, he felt impending doom hanging over his family. He turned and walked toward the house as he heard Mr. Kincaid drive away._

_ The next morning, Danny was jolted awake to a sudden, loud crash. Then he heard the unmistakeable sound of screaming and anquished sobbing. It took him a moment to realize that it was his mother and that the commotion was coming from the room next door. _

_ Keith's room._

_ He quickly threw his bed covers off, jumped out of bed and practically tore the door to his room off its hinges as he ran into his older brother's room. What he saw there, literally brought him to his knees._

_ An overturned tray lay on the floor; a juice glass lay shattered with orange liquid splashed everywhere, a bowl of what looked like oatmeal had splattered across the floor. Shirley was kneeling at the side of Keith's bed, her whole upper body thrown across his still form. She was in the process of gathering him in her arms as she wailed her grief. _

_ "No...not Keith. Please God, give him back to me. I'll do anything...anything...Please...don't take him..." Her words were cut off as she lost control of her emotions and sobbed uncontrollably._

_ Unable to move or speak, Danny simply watched as his mother rocked Keith's limp body back and forth, as if he were a child that had gotten hurt on the playground. Danny was only slightly aware of his siblings as they came into the room behind him as he watched his brother's head loll crazily back and forth in time to his mother's rocking motions._

_ "Mom? What's the matter...OH MY GOD!" Laurie screamed as she realized what had happened. Danny felt her push past him and watched as his older sister tried to pull their mother away from Keith's lifeless body. _

_ His last thought before the room began to spin wildly, was 'Boy, he looks better than he has for the last few days. So...lifelike...like he's only sleeping.' _

_ Then the blackness overtook him. _

_ Danny slowly came to in his bedroom. Laurie was sitting in a chair by his bedside, holding vigil. She looked at him with reddened and puffy eyes and smiled gently at him as she stroked his face with her cool hand. _

_ "Laurie?" Danny whispered. _

_ "Shhhh. Don't try to talk now." _

_ Danny ignored her and sat up in his bed. He glanced out the window and noticed the approaching darkness. "How long was I out for?" _

_ "All day." Came the monotone answer. The reassuring cool hand abruptly stopped its ministrations. _

_ "Is it true?" Danny's voice sounded small and far away._

_ Laurie sighed shakily. "Yes. Keith's...dead." Tears were flowing freely from her reddened eyes. "Oh Danny!" _

_ Danny reached out to her and she all but collapsed into his arms, sobbing her heart out. He held onto her tightly and cried with her._

_ Finally, they both pulled themselves together enough for Danny to ask a few more questions._

_ "Where's Mom?"_

_ Laurie wiped at her eyes with a crumpled up Kleenex tissue. "She went to the hospital...to escort the body to the morgue and sign some papers. . Mr. Kincaid is with her. Actually, they should be home by now, they've been gone for a long time." Danny could hear the worry in her voice, even though she did her best to hide it. _

_ "What about Chris and Tracy? Where are they?" Danny noticed that Chris's bed was empty._

_ Laurie smiled appreciatively at Danny's concern. "They're both sleeping in our room. Chris is in a sleeping bag on the floor near Tracy's bed; he didn't want her to be alone." _

_ Danny nodded. That was just like his younger brother. Fiercely protective of his baby sister. They all were. _

_ "Laurie...what happened?" Danny wanted to know. He was surprised at how steady his voice sounded._

_ Laurie knew exactly what he meant. "They think that it was some sort of complication from him having the flu. But we won't know for sure until after the autopsy."_

_ "Autopsy?" A stab of horror went through him like a knife. _

_ Laurie nodded sadly. "Yeah, they have to..." _

_ She was interrupted by the sound of the front door being flung open. _

_ "LAURIE!" Shirley's panicked voice raced up the staircase to them._

_ They both jumped at the unexpected intrusion, then they raced down the stairs to see what was going on. _

_ "Mom? What's the matter?" Laurie was the first to reach her. _

_ "Keith's gone!" Shirley had a wild look in her eyes that Danny had never seen and it scared him. _

_ "Mom...we know that..." Danny tried his best to calm her._

_ Reuben walked through the door behind Shirley and quickly closed it. _

_ "No Danny. What she means is that Keith's body is missing!" Reuben gave Danny a meaningful stare. _

_ "What do you mean his body's missing? How can anyone misplace a...body?" Laurie sounded confused and horrified at the same time. _

_ "They were getting ready to do the autopsy. But when the coroner arrived, it was gone! Nothing left but the sheet that was covering him. Like he vanished into thin air!" _

_ "That's ridiculous! How can his body be gone?" Laurie wanted to know. "Someone is playing an awfully mean-spirited prank if you ask me! He's got to be in the hospital somewhere!"_

_ Shirley sat down heavily on the sofa. "They've searched the whole building and came up with nothing. Now they're thinking that someone stole him; possibly for ransom...or something more sinister._

_ Laurie exploded. "That's just SICK! Who'd do such a thing...and why?" _

_ Shirley just shrugged wordlessly. _

_ The manager turned her back toward the staircase. "There's nothing we can do at the moment. Everything is in the hands of the authorities. It's late and we all need to rest. I have a feeling that the next few days are going to be extremely draining for all of us. Laurie, why don't you help your mother upstairs? She was given a sedative at the hospital and it looks like it's beginning to take effect."_

_ Laurie nodded. It wasn't long before they were both upstairs and out of earshot._

_ Reuben turned to Danny. "I'll stay on the sofa tonight and keep watch. First light, you and I go out to the Tate house and finish this. I have everything we need in the trunk of my car." _

_ Danny remembered that he would be going back to an empty room as he knew that Laurie wouldn't disturb Chris at this point. _

_ "I'll get some bedding for you and my sleeping bag. I'm sleeping on the floor down here." _

_ There was no argument from the manager. _


	7. Chapter 7

_**CHAPTER 7 **_

_It had been a long night. Danny didn't think that either one of them slept much, if at all. Every little sound that they had heard during the night put them on high alert. _

_At one point, around 3 in the morning, Danny was startled awake by a noise; a faint, scratching sound at the front window. He looked wide-eyed at the manager._

_Reuben nodded grimly. "It's been going on for about 15 minutes or so. I...I think it's Keith. I haven't been able to make myself look."_

_Danny's heart was pounding fast and hard as he got up from the floor where he had been sleeping...if you wanted to call it sleep. "What makes you think that it's Keith? It could be Adrian..." his voice trailed off as he stood there, feeling helpless._

_"I...I heard his voice. He wants to come in; he's been calling to you." _

_Danny's heart went from pounding in his chest, to almost stopping all together. _

_"What are we gonna do?" _

_The manager's eyes were locked on the curtained front window. "Nothing. He can't come in unless he's invited, remember?" _

_"Oh...yeah." Danny swallowed hard. "How long do you think he'll stay out there? He could wake up Mom or any of the other kids." _

_Reuben sighed. "I was afraid of this." He reached for his briefcase on the floor next to the sofa. Setting it on the coffee table he snapped the latches open and lifted the lid. He reached into one of the larger pockets and brought out a rather sizable crucifix. It shone in the relative darkness of the room . _

_"I guess we'll have to scare him off." He began to rise from the sofa, but Danny motioned for him to sit back down. _

_He held out his hand. "Let me do it. He's my brother..." _

_Reuben shook his head, but reluctantly held the cross out to Danny. "Listen, Danny. You have to remember one thing. Whatever is out there...that's not Keith. It may look like him, but it's not him...not really."_

_Danny's heart ached at the manager's words as they hit home. He was right. That wasn't his beloved big brother out there. Keith was dead. It was their job to make sure that his body and soul was freed from an unspeakable fate. _

_He took the crucifix in hand and slowly made his way toward the window. _

_"Danny. Don't look into his eyes..."_

_Nodding in understanding, he sucked in a breath as he reached out to the curtains. With a sudden burst of movement he ripped the heavy fabric way from the window. If he lived to be a hundred, he'd never forget the sight that assaulted his eyes and his heart._

_Keith stood close to the window, tapping quietly on the glass. Any normal person would have jumped at the sudden movement from inside the house, but Keith stood there unflinchingly and flashed one of his famous smiles at him. The sharp, elongated incisors punched a hole right through his very soul. _

_"Danny...let me in. It's cold out here." _

_"Go away." Danny said firmly, trying very hard to not look into the creature's eyes. He clutched the cross tightly in his hand and felt hot tears forming in his eyes. _

_"C'mon, Dan. I forgot my key. Let me in and I'll make sure you're rewarded."_

_Oh God...this was so hard! Danny glanced up intending to just sweep his gaze over the monster that was standing in the front yard. Big mistake._

_A fine mist was swirling around Keith mysteriously. His eyes were blood-red and filled with unspeakable hunger. His smile grew wider as the monster licked it's lips. As pale as he had been at the time of his death, Keith's complexion was now a very healthy tan.. And if he had been handsome in life, he was downright beautiful in death. Any flaws that he had had, were gone. Perfection to the nth degree. _

_Slowly, Danny began to reach for the latch on the window and the Keith-thing smiled even wider. "Yeah, that's it. Say the words, Danny...invite me in. Hurry, it's freezing out here." _

_All of a sudden, Danny felt himself being shoved to the floor. As soon as his eyes left Keith's evil gaze, he came back to himself and realized what had almost happened. The crucifix was torn from his grasp, then he heard Reuben's stern voice. _

_"GET...OUT OF HERE! IN THE NAME OF GOD...BE GONE!"_

_Danny looked up in time to see that the older man was holding the cross out in front of him as he spoke the words. He heard the Keith-thing hiss in fright and anger, as it began to back away from the window. _

_"You'll pay for this! I'll get both of you...one way or another!"_

_Then he was gone._

_The next thing he knew, gentle hands were helping him from the floor. When he was finally standing, he looked at the man standing beside him. _

_"Oh...Mr. Kincaid..." _

_The words died as he felt his throat catch and his eyes begin to burn with hot tears. He felt the older man's comforting embrace, but a strange sound came to him. Slowly, he realized that it was the sound of his own grief, as he sobbed into the manager's jacket. _

_They spent the rest of the night sitting on the sofa, waiting for the break of day._

_The manager was true to his word and began to make preparations at the first hint of light. By the time the sun was shining brightly into the kitchen, the duo were well on their way to the vampire's lair. Danny's heart was heavy with grief. _

_As Reuben pointed the car towards the far end of town, he gave Danny his instructions. _

_"I've got everything we need in the trunk. Stakes, a mallet, Holy Water, and these." _

_With one hand on the steering wheel, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out not one, but two crucifixes; both on pure silver chains._

_Wordlessly, Danny took the religious adornment and slipped it over his head. He watched as the manager did the same. _

_He looked down at the cross that lay against his t-shirt. Somehow, it looked out of place, but he was glad to have it. It brought a sense of security and comfort to him. He knew that he was going to have to be strong for whatever lay ahead of them. _

_The manager continued, "We've got plenty of time, but I don't want to get too relaxed. Time has a way of sneaking up on a person, so the quicker we get this done, the better. Agreed?" Reuben threw a quick glance at his young charge._

_Danny nodded wordlessly._

_"Okay. Let's map this out then. I'll...uh...stake the other three first and then...uh...set Keith free. You just hand me the stakes as needed. You won't have to do the dirty work." He assured the adolescent boy._

_Danny finally found his tongue. "No." He was adamant. "I've got to be the one to stake Keith. He's my brother, I have to be the one to free his soul." His voice was hard and even, steeling himself for an argument. He knew that Reuben was only trying to protect him, but he wasn't going to back down on this. There was no question about it in his mind; this was something that he just had to do. He gripped the car's armrest as he met the older man's astonished gaze with defiance, practically daring him to deny him of his duty. _

_To Danny's utter amazement, Reuben didn't say a word as he carefully scrutinized Danny's face. He returned his gaze to the road in front of him. _

_The sun was shining brightly as they arrived at the coven's hideout. Reuben and Danny silently got out of the car and both headed to the back of the vehicle. Danny waited patiently as the older man fumbled nervously with the keys, trying to find the one to open the trunk. Finally Danny laid his hand over the manager's shaking hands and quietly took the keyring out of his hands. A strange calm came over him as he found the correct key and opened the trunk. The contents glared back at him menacingly; four of the sharpest looking wooden stakes that he had ever seen. They gathered up their supplies and Reuben slammed the trunk lid shut. The two of them then proceeded up to the large, forbidding structure. _

_Once inside, they wasted no time in continuing down to the basement. Reuben went down the stairs first and went right to the covered basement windows. There he ripped the heavy coverings away from them, allowing the bright sunlight to stream into the dark,cave-like room. _

_"Just a little insurance." He stated, choking a little on the last word. He met Danny's gaze momentarily and quickly looked away. _

_They proceeded to the ornate, yet sinister looking boxes and hesitated at the first one before opening it up. _

_Inside lay the male vampire that they had seen in the surveillance of the house prior to the recent devastating events. They made quick work of him, his mate, who lay in the coffin next to his, and finally Adrian. Reuben never hesitated in his gruesome work, stoically and methodically placing the wooden stake over the left side of the vampires chest and pounding it home. There was a great deal of blood, which splattered across the managers dark suit and tie as the monster within the coffin opened it's eyes wide with sudden pain and anger. They all clutched at the offending weapon, but succumbed quickly to the stake. Danny helped Reuben lift the bloodied bodies to the patch of sunlight that was streaming through the basement window. They sprinkled the Holy Water over the bodies then watched, fascinated, as the bodies began to smoke and disintegrate right before their very eyes, leaving only a pile of gray ash behind. Danny angrily scattered the remains with his foot. _

_Reuben moved on to the forth and final coffin. Danny put his hand on the managers blood-spotted arm. Reuben wordlessly handed the stake and mallet over to the young boy and stepped to the head of the coffin to open the lid. _

_With a little effort, the lid came up and revealed Keith lying in slumber. He looked at peace, but Danny knew better. He silently positioned the stake over his brother's heart and paused. Then he began to recite "The Lord's Prayer." Reuben's voice joined his as they spoke the words that brought them a bit of comfort. In a few short seconds, all that was left to do was the inevitable._

_Danny steadied the stake with his left and gripped the mallet tightly with his right. _

_"Forgive me, Keith." Danny said softly. "I love you..." _

_Then he took a deep breath and swung the mallet up and over his head with all his might as he cried out in horror, agony and grief. _

_Strangely, he never heard the sound of the mallet as it met the wooden stake. _


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 **

"Danny...wake up!"

Someone was shaking him roughly as he swam up out of deep sleep.

"Huh? Wha...?" Danny shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs of slumber. He wanted nothing more than to return to blissful unconsciousness, where he wouldn't have to deal with...anything.

"DANNY!" A final rough shove. Now he recognized the voice that was trying to awaken him.

_Keith!_

He couldn't bring himself to open his eyes and look at his brother, he was too frightened.

"Oh, I give up!" He heard Keith exclaim. "I'm going back to bed."

"Danny, honey. Wake up." It was the soft, concerned voice of his mother.

He peeked at her with one eye. "Mom?"

She smiled at him. "You've been having a bad dream. I tried to wake you up, but you kept calling out for Keith, so I woke him up to see if he could bring you out of it. Are you alright? You were beginning to frighten me!"

As Danny listened to his mother's soothing voice, he calmed down considerably.

He nodded in answer to her question. "Yeah, I'm okay. Where did Keith go?" Suddenly, he had to see his older brother; he had to see his eyes.

Shirley smiled. "I think he went back to bed. Was your dream...about Keith?" Despite her warm smile, Danny could see concern in her eyes.

"I...I think so." Was it possible that the whole thing had been a horrible dream? He had to see Keith to be sure. He threw the covers back and got out of bed. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Chris in his bed, looking at him sleepily.

"I told you that he was dreaming about vampires!" He exclaimed as he punched his pillow halfheartedly and attempted to go back to sleep.

Danny ignored him and headed for the door without stopping for his robe. Shirley was close on his heels.

He didn't hesitate at Keith's door and barged right in.

"Keith? Are you okay?"

The eldest Partridge had obviously just settled down once again and was on the verge of sleep when Danny had walked into his room; unannounced and uninvited.

Keith sighed tiredly. "Have you ever heard of knocking?"

"Keith...just humor him. He's had a bad dream." Shirley warned.

The dark haired young man's eyes settled on his younger brother. "Yeah, I'm okay. Tired...but okay. Is that all you wanted?"

Danny looked into his brother's eyes. They were their normal hazel color. A lighter version of the color, signifying that he wasn't unduly upset; just plain old tired.

"Open your mouth. I want to see your teeth." Danny ordered.

Keith looked incredulous. "You're kidding." He looked up to their mother. "Tell me he's kidding."

Shirley shook her head. "No, he's not. Just show him your teeth so you can get back to sleep." She ordered him

Reluctantly, he sat up in bed, faced his younger brother and opened his mouth, pulling back his upper lip with his fingers. Then he released his lip and flopped back down in bed.

"Are you satisfied? Can I go back to sleep now?"

Great relief washed through Danny and he smiled widely. "Yeah. Thanks."

"Don't mention it. Now get out." Keith turned his back to them and pulled the covers over his head. "Turn the light off and shut the door." His request was muffled, but decipherable.

Shirley and Danny did as he asked. Shirley accompanied Danny back to his room.

As she tucked him back in, Danny asked another question.

"Mom...where's Mr. Kincaid?"

"He's on vacation. Visiting his mother. Danny you know that."

"He didn't come back early or...anything?"

She shook her head. "No. He's due to come back in a few days. We can call him in the morning if that would make you feel better."

Danny smiled. "Nah. That's okay. He's probably got enough to deal with." His memory of Mrs. Kincaid's sweet wackiness was still fresh in Danny's mind.

Shirley kissed him on the forehead. "Okay. No more staying up late and watching those awful movies, okay?"

Danny hesitated. He wasn't sure if he would be able to swear off of them completely. "Um..."

"Danny..." Shirley chided him.

"Oh alright. I promise."

Shirley smiled at him. "Go to sleep. No more bad dreams."

"No more bad dreams." He agreed and snuggled down under the blankets, feeling safe and warm.

"Good night, Danny."

"Goodnight Mom."

_**THE END**_


End file.
